Auger mining apparatus having rigidly attached transverse conveyor



p 25, 1956 c. E. COMPTON AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVING RIGIDLY ATTACHEDTRANSVERSE CONVEYOR Original Filed Dec. 27, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet l IN VENTOR. CHARLES E. COMPTON C. E. COMPTON AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVINGRIGIDLY Sept. 25, 1956 ATTACHED TRANSVERSE CONVEYOR Original Filed Dec.27, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 s N o m WE 3 mm L w L EH 0 V1 t B m m. 5 mm mmmm o m. 87. E mn oejm: w: 9 2 4 JJ.) 1''! L. RWTA E llwn A I m 1 g 9 5 Ri 3 oi 0Q 21 :1 :1 6

Sept. 25, 1956 c. E. COMPTON 2,764,397

AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVING RIGIDLY ATTACHED TRANSVERSE CONVEYOROriginal Filed Dec. 27, 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG FIG

P 25, 1956 c. E. COMPTON 2,764,397

AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVING RIGIDLY ATTACHED TRANSVERSE CONVEYORorlglnal Filed Dec. 27, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.7.

INVENTOR. CHARLES E. COMPTON Sept. 25, 1956 c. E. COMPTON 2,764,397

AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVING RIGIDLY ATTACHED TRANSVERSE CONVEYOROriginal Filed Dec. 27. 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 N INVENTOR.

CHARLES E. COMPTON y y g M92124 Sept. 25, 1956 c. E. COMPTON 2,764,397

AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVING RIGIDLY ATTACHED TRANSVERSE CONVEYOROriginal Filed Dec. 27, 1950 6 sh t -she t 6 I VENTOR. CHARLES E.COMPTON United States Patent AUGER MINING APPARATUS HAVING REGIDLYATTACHED TRANSVERSE CGNVEYOR Charles E. Compton, Bridgeport, W. Va.

Continuation of application Serial No. 282,898, Deccan-- her 27, 1950.This application .l'une 1, 1956, Serial No. 588,640

7 Claims. c1. 26226) This invention relates to mining apparatus,particularly mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material anddelivering the material laterally to a delivery point comprising aframe, an elongated mining element carried by the frame, means forrotating and advancing the elongated mining element relatively to theframe to enter a body of material, form a bore therein and delivermaterial from the body outwardly through the bore and conveyor meansextending transversely of the direction of advance of the elongatedmining element, having the material receiving portion thereof positionedintermediate the ends of the elongated mining element and having aconveying element positioned to receive material delivered from the boreby the elongated mining element and convey the material to a deliverypoint generally at the side of the frame.

This application is a continuation of my copending application SerialNo. 202,898, filed December 27, 1950, now abandoned. Features hereindisclosed are claimed in my Patent No. 2,616,677.

Mining apparatus of the type above referred to is known to those skilledin the art as anger mining apparatus. An auger mining machine comprisesa frame and an elongated mining element carried by the frame. Theelongated mining element may comprise a cutter head at the leading endthereof and a conveyor, such, for example, as a spiral conveyor, behindand connected with the cutter head. Means are provided for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore. The thus delivered material is loadedinto trucks for hauling to an unloading point such as a coal tipple. Theloading of the material into trucks is accomplished by conveyor means asabove mentioned which extend transversely of the direction of advance ofthe elongated mining element. Such conveyor means as heretofore employedhave comprised either a single conveyor or a series of conveyorsseparate from the auger mining machine having disadvantages which willbe pointed out hereinafter.

I connect rigidly with the frame of the apparatus the material receivingportion of the conveyor means for loading the material into trucks,which conveyor means will be hereinafter sometimes referred to as atransfer carrier, so that the conveyor means or transfer carrier ineffect forms an integral part of the mining apparatus. When the conveyormeans is rigidly connected with the frame of the mining apparatus itsposition is determined by the position of the frame and the conveyormeans moves with the frame whenever the frame is moved. The conveyormeans extends transversely of the direction of advance of the elongatedmining element, has the material receiving portion thereof positionedintermediate the ends of the elongated mining element and has a conveying element positioned to receive material delivered from the bore bythe elongated mining element and convey the material through thematerial receiving portion 2,764,397 Patented Sept. 25, 1956 of theconveyor means to a delivery point generally at the side of the frame ofthe mining apparatus. Such conveyor means or transfer carrier may have asingle conveying element or mechanism conveying the material from theelongated mining element into the truck or may convey the material to anauxiliary conveyor which delivers it into the truck.

The rigid connection of the material receiving portion of the transfercarrier with the frame is important to a high rate of production in useof the mining apparatus. The separate conveyor previously employed hadto be separately moved each time the auger mining machine finishedforming one bore and was to be shifted into position for formation ofthe succeeding bore. Such separate movement of the transfer carrierrequired considerable time and labor. My apparatus can be shifted fromone position to the next in a small fraction of the time required when aseparate transfer carrier is employed.

The use of a separate transfer carrier also makes it necessary toprepare the ground in front of the body of material being mined toenable the transfer carrier to be disposed at a sufficiently lowelevation to receive the mined material and also to insure that thetransfer carrier is properly level. The making of the transfer carrier arigid part of the frame of the auger mining machine obviates preparationof the ground for the reception of the transfer carrier and alsoobviates problems incident to leveling of the transfer carrier forproper operation. When the auger mining machine is shifted from oneposition to the next the transfer carrier, being an integral part of themachine, moves with it and if the ground at the point where the transfercarrier is to be positioned is somewhat too high the transfer carrierwill be caused by the movement of the machine as a whole to form its owntrench in the ground.

Comparative tests show that an auger mining machine equipped with arigidly connected or integral transfer car rier as above described canbe shifted from one position to the next and formation of the next borestarted in two minutes or less Whereas a time well in excess of fiveminutes and more often in the order of ten to fifteen minutes isrequired when a separate transfer carrier is employed.

The transfer carrier normally has a conveying element positioned toreceive material delivered from the bore by the elongated miningelement, and it is preferred to drive the conveying element from themeans for rotating and advancing the elongated mining element. This is afurther important feature of my apparatus. A single power plant drivesboth the elongated mining element and the conveying element. Ipreferably provide connections including clutch means between the meansfor rotating and advancing the elongated mining element and the meansfor driving the conveying element whereby the conveying element may bedriven at will by the means for rotating and advancing the elongatedmining element. Thus the machine operator without leaving his operatingstation may start and stop the conveying element at will while theelongated mining element continues to operate. When a separate transfercarrier is used it must have its own motive unit which cannot beoperated from the operating station on the machine so that to start andstop the conveying element of the transfer carrier either the operatormust leave his post on the machine and go over to the transfer carrieror an extra workman must be utilized for the purpose.

The conveying element may be an endless conveying element and in oneform of apparatus the endless conveying element may extend completelyabout the elongated mining element. This has the advantage that only onereach of the endless conveying element is disposed beneath the elongatedmining element, making it possible to recover material from the body ofmaterial mined closer to the floor or surface upon which the apparatusoperates than when two reaches of the endless conveying element mustpass one above the other below the elongated mining element. Theso-called wrap around conveyor may save several inches in verticalspace. When that saving is not important an endless conveying elementwith both reaches disposed below the elongated mining element may besatisfactorily employed.

The transfer carrier may extend at an acute angle to the direction ofadvance of the elongated mining element and the discharge portion of thetransfer carrier may be positioned more remote from the transverse planeof the front end of the auger mining machine than the material receivingportion thereof to facilitate positioning of trucks to be loaded inposition to receive the material without interference from the body ofmaterial being mined.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of a present preferred embodimentthereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a present preferred embodimentof the invention in which Figure 1 is a side view of a mining machineembodying the invention engaged in a mining operation;

Figure 2 is a side view on a somewhat larger scale of the mining machinewith the elongated mining element detached therefrom (in Figures 1 and 2the endless conveying element of the transfer carrier is not shown);

Figure 3 is a plan view of the mining machine with only a part of theelongated mining element shown;

Figure 4 is a front view of the mining machine on a still larger scale;

Figure 5 is a side view of the motor carriage forming a part of themining machine;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the motor carriage;

Figure 7 is a front view of the motor carriage;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the transfer carrier forming a portion of themining machine shown in Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a side view of the same transfer carrier when viewed whilelooking generally at the front of the mining machine;

Figure 10 is a detail view on a somewhat enlarged scale taken along theline XX of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is an end view of the transfer carrier shown in Figure 9 takenfrom the delivery end thereof;

Figure 12 is an end view of the transfer carrier viewed from the otherend thereof;

Figure 13 is a schematic representation of a hydraulic system suitablefor use in controlling part of the operations of the mining machine;

Figure 14 is a side view of a control platform located on the side ofthe machine as shown in Figure 3 with the mechanism for operating thehydraulic system; and

Figure 15 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 14.

Referring to the drawings, a massive elongated frame 10 is providedhaving side structural members 11 rigidly joined at the rear endsthereof by a bolster 12 welded or otherwise afiixed to the structuralmembers 11. At spaced intervals toward the forward end 13 of the frame10, spanning structural members 14 in the form of plates having agenerally invert or convex downwardly profile are also joined to therespective side structural members 11 by welding or otherwise. It willtherefore be seen that the frame 10 is generally trough-shaped and thatthe forward end 13 is open. A pan 15 which is also convex downwardlyfits the profile of the plates 14 to which the pan 15 is bolted orwelded. The upper edges of the pan 15 are affixed to the side structuralmembers 11. As will be seen from Figures 2 and 3, the pan 15 is made intwo portions 15a and 15b so as to provide a transverse opening 16therethrough adjacent the forward end 13. The various frame members suchas the sides 11 may be made of well casing pipe, for example, which isof suitable strength. The forward portion 15a of the pan 15 is providedwith supporting or pilot rollers 17 suitably journaled in brackets 17afastened to pan portion 15a. Between mining operations the mining headassembly or elongated mining element 18 normally will rest on therollers 17 and will be guidingly supported thereby when a miningoperation begins.

Laterally projecting tubular members 19 of suitable strength are weldedto the sides of members 11 at spaced intervals. lvfembers 19 areprovided with flanges 20 which cooperate with mating flanges 21 on arms22. Arms 22 are welded to sides 11. The upright legs 23 of the miningmachine are welded to the outer ends of members 19. In this way when themating flanges 21: and 21 are bolted together the legs 23 become anintegral and rigid part of the mining machine. On the other hand, sinceeach leg unit 23 is relatively self-contained the entire leg assemblycan be separated from the mining machine by uncoupling the respectiveflanges 21 and 20 if repairs are needed or the machine is to be movedover the public roads.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 4 traction treads 39 in the form ofendless tractor tracks are provided on the legs 23 on one side only ofthe machine. On the other side of the machine the legs 23 and theirsliding members 25 are provided with drag bases 41). These bases 41 arein the form of downwardly convex tubs and furnish a considerable supportarea to the legs on that side. At the same time they can readily bedragged and will slide over the ground during lateral movement of themachine when it is being moved between side-by-side mining stationsalong the working face of a coal seam such as the coal seam S in Figure1 or any other mineral deposit. The drag bases 40 are provided with eyes41 so that a tractor can be attached to the machine on that side if itis desired to drag it in a lateral direction with the drag bases 40leading. In most situations that side of the machine having the tractiontreads 39 thereon will be used to move the machine laterally with thetreads 39 in the lead. Where lateral movement in both directions mayfrequently take place, then it may be preferable to replace the dragbases 40 with traction tread assemblies similar to assemblies 39.

On top of platform 42 of each assembly 39 a combined hydraulic motor andgear reducer 57 of a conventional make is bolted and is connected to thecorresponding traction tread to drive it.

Since there is independent driving control of each assembly 39, someturning of the machine about a vertical axis intermediate its ends isachievable to place, for example, the longitudinal axis of the machinenormally to the working face of seam S at the next station whenever theface may not be straight. Further, as shown in Figure 1, the relativesetting of the respective heights of the front and back legs 23 of themachine enable the longitudinal axis of the machine and therefore thelongitudinal axis of the mining head assembly 18 to conform to the slopeof the mineral seam S being mined. In this way the amount of worthlessmaterial mined can be reduced to a negligible amount and obviate mineralcleaning costs. In order to initially point or aim the mining headassembly 18 the axis of which generally coincides with the longitudinalaxis of the mining machine of this invention, the axis of the miningmachine is aligned when r the mining head assembly 18 is retracted andout of scam S. When fully retracted, all helical conveyor sections 60beyond the one immediately connected to the mining head 18 are removedand placed alongside the machine or stored in the superstructure of themachine. That superstructure comprises the arched beams 61 and conveyorsection racks 63. In order to handle the conveyor sections 6% aconventional hydraulically operated winch 67 is carried by each pair ofarched beams 61.

A motor carriage assembly 88 is shown in Figures 5 to 7 in somewhatgreater detail than in the other figures of the drawings. Carriage 88has a drop-center frame comprising side members 89, a rear bolster 90rigidly connecting the side members 89. A front bolster 91 also rigidlyconnects the side members 89 at the other end of the frame 88.Upstanding rigid bracket supporting plates 92 are welded to the sidemembers 89 adjacent the four corners of the carriage 88. These plates 92are slotted at 93 for the reception of sliding brackets 94 similarlyslotted for bolting to plates 92 at the selected height. Horizontalplates 94a are welded to the brackets 94 and support a vertical journal95 of a guide roller 96. Suitable roller thrust bearings, for example,may be used with such journals and brackets. The guide rollers 96project outwardly beyond the plates 94a in a transverse or lateraldirection adjacent each of the corners of carriage 88.

A channel-shaped guide rail 97 engages the projecting portion of therespective guide rollers 96 as shown in Figure 7. The guide rails 97extend along the inside of each of the side structural members 11 of theframe and are rigidly fastened thereto. Thus, movement of the carriage88 is limited by the guide rollers 96 and the guide rails 97 tolongitudinal movement between the respective ends of the frame 10.Because of the positioning of these guide rollers 96 the carriage 88 isin effect a drop-center carriage placing it relatively close to theground for maximum force and stability in operating the mining headassembly 18. As shown in Figure 2, the lower portions of the carriage 88travel in the trough defined by the upper surface of the pan 15. Theupper flange of the guide rail 97 is provided with a widened portion ora separate plate may be used to serve as a friction track 98 which isalso fixed to the side members 11 along the length thereof.

Pedestals 99 are provided at the front and rear of the carriage 88 infixed upstanding relation to the side members 89. The respective pairsof pedestals have vertical slots 100 therein for the accommodation oflive axles 101. A cover 102 across the top of each pedestal closes thetops of the slots 100. In each slot 100, an upper inverted U-shapedbearing 103 is provided in vertically slidable relation only to therespective pedestal. In addition, the bottom of the respective slots 100may be conventionally hushed. A threaded rod 105 passes through a tappedopening in cover 102 and acts as a screwdown against the top of theupper bearing 103 in each case. The outer ends of the front and rearaxles 101 after passing through the slots 100 and bearings 183 are keyedto driving wheels 106 which are provided with conventional rubber tires.In addition, spacing collars 104 are aflixed to each axle 101 justinwardly of the respective pedestals 99. The turning of the threadedrods 105 adjusts the height of the respective Wheels 106 so thatappropriate pressure is obtained between the wheels 106 and the surfaceof the respective tracks 98, the surface of which may be roughened forbetter gripping. The adjustment of the height of the brackets 94 must becorrelated with the height of the axles 181 to maintain rollers 96 inthe center of channels 97 and avoid undue friction therebetween.

An internal combustion engine such as diesel engine 107 is provided todrive the wheels 106. Engine 107 is suitably and rigidly mounted on theside members 89 by means of the brackets 108 and 109. A conventionalradiator 118 is also mounted on the frame of carriage 88 adjacent andconnected to the engine 107. The engine 187 is provided with aconventional clutch and flywheel housing mechanism 111 within which ashaft passes into a transmission assembly enclosed in the transmissionhousing 112. A clutch pedal 113 operates the clutch in housing 111 andis controlled by a driver sitting in a drivers seat 114 on the rightside of the carriage 88. A floor 115 for the driver is welded or boltedto the car riage 88.

A conventional fuel throttle 116 is placed beside the drlvers seat 114to run the engine 107 at the desired speed. In addition, a transmissionshift lever 117 is within reach of the driver to apply the desiredforward or reverse rotational speed to a conventional flexible coupling119 or to let the engine 107 idle in neutral without turning mining headassembly 18. Coupling 119 may be constructed to break if mining headassembly 18 strikes an impenetrable obstruction in the course of amining operation and thereby protect the other mechanism of carriage 88.A speed reducer 120 is bolted to front bolster 91 and is operativelyconnected to the output side of transmission 112 by a shaft 118.

A male coupling 122 is fixed to the output shaft 121 of speed reducer120. The male member 122 is polygonal in section so as to fit into asocket of corresponding section; such a socket is welded at the rearwardend of each helical section 60. The forward ends of the helical sections60 are provided with male coupling members similar to coupling 122. Inthat way, the mining head assembly 18 can be made of indefinite lengthby adding such sections 60 in the course of a mining operation at asingle station, the couplings being maintained coupled by the couplingpins. Thereby the mining head 18 can cut its Way into the seam S for adistance several times as long as the length of the frame 10 of themining machine operating the mining head assembly 18.

In the course of a usual mining operation, the mining head assembly 18is rotated by carriage 88 in a direction so as to screw the helicalblades 65 into the bore being cut in the seam S by the head 18. Such adirection of rotation while the carriage 88 is moving forward causes themineral being mined to be passed along between the turns of the blades65 toward the transverse opening 16 at the forward end of the pan 15. Atransfer carrier which is more fully illustrated in Figures 8 to 12,removes such mined mineral from the mining machine and transfers it to adelivery hopper 141 which is sufficiently high so that trucks orrailroad cars or other vehicles may be directly loaded therefrom.Transfer carrier 140 is provided with a chute 142 having a front wall143, a rear wall 144 and a bottom 145, making the chute generallyU-shape in cross section normal to the bottom as shown in Figure 10.This chute 142 passes beneath the transverse opening 16 which is notwider than the width of the chute 142. The front and back walls 143 and144 of the horizontal portion of the chute are cut out so that theycorrespond in profile to the edges of the pan 15 along the respectiveedges of the opening 16. Such chute Walls may be bolted to such edges.As a result mined material moved rearwardly by the blades 65 fallsthrough opening 16 into the bottom of chute 142 immediately beneath thatopening.

While the chute 142 is transversely positioned relative to thelongitudinal axis of the mining machine of this invention, it isgenerally not normal thereto so that the receiving end of the carrier140 can be positioned as close as possible to' the front edge 13 of themining machine which in turn is as close to the working face of themineral deposit as possible (see Figures 1 and 8). On the other hand,the delivery hopper 141 must be positioned sufi'iciently far away sothat a truck or a pair of trucks or other vehicles can fit beneath thetwo discharge openings therein. For that reason delivery hopper 141 ispositioned rearward of the other end of the carrier 140. While the arms146 may be fixedly attached to the forward ends of the side members 11,the booms 147 and chute 142 are appropriately bolted to the frame 10 andpan 15 respectively in order to permit their removal when the machine isto be transported. The upper ends of the booms 147 are provided withsprockets 148 journalled in the clevises thereof. In addition, sprockets149, 158 and 151 are respectively journalled as shown in Figures 8 to 12inclusive to complete the supporting members for the polygonalencirclement of the transfer carrier 140 by two parallel endlesssprocket chains 152. These chains extend around the respective sprocketsand scrape along the bottom of the chute substantially over the entirelength thereof. Scrapers 153 are connected between the parallel endlesschains 152 and maintained in a position normal to the bottom 145 as thechain passes over it. The height of the scrapers 153 may be madesuflicient, if desired, to extend somewhat above the lowermost portionof the opening 16 but out of the path of the blades 65. As viewed inFigure 9 the endless chains 152 moving in parallel formation rotate in acounterclockwise direction. Rails 145a may be fastened along both sides(as shown in Figure 10) past the bend in bottom 145 to insure movementof chains 152 and scrapers 153 close to bottom 145. Thereby minedmineral deposited through the opening 16 is removed upwardly along thebottom 145 of chute 142 and dumped into the discharge hopper 141. Thetwo discharge openings 141a of hopper 141 are controlled by a gate 141!)which can be thrown from one side to the other as may be seen in Figure11 successively to fill a truck first on the one side and then to fill atruck on the other.

The shaft 154 connecting the sprockets 150 is also the drive shaft forthe parallel endless chains 152. A sprocket 155 keyed to one end ofshaft 154 is rotated by a sprocket chain 156 geared to a speed reducer157. The speed reducer 157 is fastened to a small platform which in turnis welded or bolted to frame 10 as shown in Figures 8 and 12.

Along the side of frame 10 adjacent the driver of the carriage 83 thereis provided a control platform 82 which is bolted or otherwise removablyfastened to the adjoining side member 11. An internal combustion engine159 is mounted on platform 82 and fastened thereto. The engine isprovided with a conventional clutch housed in housing 180 and operatedby a clutch lever 181. A shaft 182 keyed to the driven portion of theclutch in housing 180 extends through a coupling 183, journal bearing184, an hydraulic circuit clutch 185, and a further journal bearing 186to the drive portion of a transfer carrier clutch 187 which driveportion is thus turned. A shaft 188 operatively connects the drivenportion of clutch 187 to speed reducer 157. A clutch lever 189 controlsthe operation of clutch 187 and when that clutch is disengaged, shaft188 ceases its rotation stopping the movement of the endless chains 152.

A clutch lever 190 controls the operation of the hydraulic circuitclutch 185. The driven portion of clutch 185 is operatively connected toa hub 191 to which are keyed the sprockets 192 and 192'. The hub 191floats on the shaft 182 and is not turned thereby except when clutch 185is engaged by the lever 190. Thereby, the lever 181 can control theoperation both of the hydraulic circuit and of the transfer carrierwhereas the respective clutch levers 18% and 1590 respectively controlthe transfer carrier operation and the hydraulic circuit operationindependent of one another so long as the clutch in housing 180 remainsengaged. Platform assembly 82 may be operated by the driver of carriage88 or by a second operator. In the latter case, since the platform iswithin voice distance of the driver in carriage 88, such correlation asmay be desirable can be obtained between them.

An hydraulic circuit which may be used in the machine of this inventionis illustrated in Figure 13 by way of example only. As is wellunderstood by those in the hydraulic circuit art, various other suchcircuits may be devised. For convenience, the circuit shown in Figure 13has been provided in two parts respectively for the rear and front.These parts bear the same reference numerals except that the circuitportions for the front of the mining machine of this invention areprimed. Thus the sprockets 192 and 192 respectively operate thehydraulic pumps 160 and 160' by means of the sprocket chains 161 and 161respectively. The hydraulic pumps 160 and 160' take their suctionrespectively from hydraulic fluid reservoirs 162 and 162'. Hydraulicfluid pumped by such hydraulic pumps respectively passes through reliefvalves 163 and 163' which remain normally closed to the exhaust pipes164 and 164 respectively so long as the hydraulic pressure on thepressure side of the system does not exceed the safety setting.Hydraulic fluid under pressure passes through inlet pipes 165 and 165 togang valves 166 and 166 which gang valves are of a conventional naturehaving individual control handles on each valve therein for an operatorstanding on the control platform 82. Exhaust pipes 167 and 167 extendfrom the common exhaust of the gang valves 166 and 166 to the respectivereservoirs 162 and 162.

In the following description of the hydraulic circuit illustrated inFigure 13, only the rear half thereof will be described. The operationof the front half of the hydraulic circuit is substantially identicaltakes place through the correspondingly numbered, but primed, mem bers.Thus, pipes 163 and 169 separately lead to the hydraulic cyiinders 26connected to the rear pair of legs of the machine illustrated. The flowof fluid through pipe 168 or through pipe 169 or through both iscontrolled by the operation of the individual handles, not illustrated,on the unit concerned of the gang valve 166. Thus, rear legs 23 beindependently or together adjusted to the desired height by theextension of the plunger 28 concerned and then held in that adjustedposition by the shifting of the aforesaid handle or handles, as is wellunderstood, to the hold position. When it is desired to lower one orboth of the said rear legs, the handle or handles concerned can be movedto the release or exhaust position permitting the hydraulic fluid in thecylinder 26 concerned to flow back through pipe 168 or 169 or both asthe case may be into exhaust pipe 167 and thence into pipe 164 and thereservoir 162. The lowering of either or both rear legs by theretraction of one or both plungers 28 when the handle or handlesconcerned are in the exhaust position is obtained by virtue of theWeight of the mining machine tending to foreshorten the rear leg or legs23 in question. If, for some reason, the pressure either in pipe 168 or169 or both should exceed the safety pressure, which is above thatexerted by the weight of the machine alone, relief will be obtainedthrough relief valves 170 and 171 and pipes 172 and 173 respectively.These relief valves offer no hindrance to the flow of hydraulic fluid inthe respective pipes 168 and 169 in either direction.

Similarly, the winch motor 69 on the rear winch is controlled by theunit valve which is second from the left as viewed in Figure 13, of thegang valve 166. In the operation of this winch motor 69, the hydrauliccircuit extends through pipes 174, the motor 69 and exhaust pipe 176 forrotation of the motor in one direction and through the pipe 175, winchmotor 69 and exhaust pipe 176 for rotation of the winch motor in theopposite direction. Exhaust pipe 176 is connected to pipe 164 wherebyhydraulic fluid flowing in the winch motor circuit may be returned toreservoir 162. Again, there is a hold position of the control handle onthe winch unit valve in accordance with standard practice for suchvalves.

The rear traction tread assembly 3% is controlled in its direction ofmovement by the rotation of hydraulic motor 57. Rotation in onedirection is effected therein by the flow of hydraluic fluid throughpipe 177, the motor 57 and exhaust pipe 179, while rotation in the otherdirection is effected by the flow of hydraulic fluid through pipe 178,the motor 57 and exhaust pipe 179. Exhaust pipe 179 is connected betweenmotor 57 and the exhaust pipe 164 leading to the reservoir 162. Thecontrol handle for the unit valve operating the rear motor 57 is notshown but provides a hold or hydraulic lock position in addition to therotational positions.

Although not shown, as is well understood in the art, it is possible byusing flexible or sliding connections for the hydraulic circuit controlsto be mounted on a panel on carriage 88 instead of platform 82. In sucha case a single operator can operate both the hydraulic circuit shown inFigure 13 and the carriage 88. Such operations 9 would generallyalternate inasmuch as the legs 23 are adjusted and the winches areusually used at times when the carriage is not operating. The operationof the transfer carrier mover 159 however, will normally be continuedthroughout the entire operation of motor carriage 88 while mining.

At the inception of a mining operation usually but a single helicalconveyor section 60 is coupled to coupling 122 and included in mininghead assembly 18. At such start of a mining operation, moreover, thecarriage 88 is usually fully retracted and at the back near the bolster12. In this arrangement, the front of the conveyor section 60 and themining head is supported by the pilot rollers 17. As shown, their axesare longitudinal and parallel to the axis of the mining machine but theymay be offset so as to be normal to the angle of pitch of the outer edgeof the helical blades 65 in contact therewith. Thus, as carriage 88 ismoved forward with the mining head assembly 18 rotating so as to screwthe blade 65 following the head 18 into the working face of seam S, therollers 17 continue their support. However, when the mining head itselfhas cut a kerf into the working face of the mineral deposit or seam S,it frequently makes the forward end of the mining head assembly 18selfsupporting. Under those circumstances, if desired, the front legs 23can be lowered very slightly, thereby lowering rollers 17 out of anypossible contact with the blade 65, without destroying the axialalignment between mining head assembly 18 and carriage 88. The helicalconveyor sections 60 are made sufliciently strong and rigid to avoidbending which would lead to objectionable rubbing or wear duringoperation of the mining machine.

There may be cases in which it may be desirable or convenient to supportthe mining head assembly intermediate the ends thereof in the course ofa mining operation by means other than the edges of the blades of thehelical conveyor sections. For example, where a seam of mineral is smalland may helical conveyor sections are employed, the slenderness ratio ofthe mining head assembly may make such intermediate support desirable.Or it may be desirable to reduce the drag of the helical conveyor bladesduring mining.

Various changes in the details and arrangements of this invention may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element carried by the frame, means for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore and conveyor means connected with theframe to move therewith extending transversely of the direction ofadvance of the elongated mining element, having its receiving endpositioned intermediate the ends of the elongated mining element andhaving an endless conveying element extending completely about theelongated mining element to receive material delivered from the bore bythe elongated mining element and convey the material to a delivery pointgenerally at the side of the frame.

2. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element comprising a cutter head at the leading endthereof and a spiral conveyor behind and connected with the cutter head,the elongated mining element being carried by the frame, means forrotating and advancing the spiral conveyor and consequently rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore and conveyor means connected with theframe to move therewith extending transversely of the direction ofadvance of the elongated mining element, having its receiving endpositioned intermediate the ends of the spiral conveyor and having anendless conveying element extending completely about the spiral conveyorto receive material delivered from the bore by the elongated miningelement and convey the material to a delivery point generally at theside of the frame.

3. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element carried by the frame, means for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore, a chute having a material receivingportion positioned intermediate the ends of the elongated mining elementto receive material delivered from the bore by the elongated miningelement and extending transversely of the direction of advance of theelongated mining element, the chute being rigidly connected with theframe so as in effect to form an integral part of the mining apparatus,whose position is determined by the position of the frame and whichmoves therewith whenever the frame is moved, a conveying elementoperable in the chute to convey the material through the chute to adelivery point generally at the side of the frame and means foroperating the conveying element.

4. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element carried by the frame, means for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore, a pan receiving material delivered fromthe bore by the elongated mining element, a chute having a materialreceiving portion positioned intermediate the ends of the elongatedmining element to receive material delivered from the bore over the panby the elongated mining element and extending transversely of thedirection of advance of the elongated mining element, the chute beingrigidly connected with the frame so as in effect to form an integralpart of the mining apparatus, whose position is determined by theposition of the frame and which moves therewith whenever the frame ismoved, a conveying element operable in the chute to convey the matrialthrough the chute to a delivery point generally at the side of the frameand means for operating the con veying element.

5. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element carried by the frame, means for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore, a pan receiving material delivered fromthe bore by the elongated mining element, the pan having an openingtherein, a chute having a material receiving portion positionedintermediate the ends of the elongated mining element to receivematerial delivered from the bore through the opening in the pan by theelongated mining element and extending transversely of the direction ofadvance of the elongated mining element, the chute being rigidlyconnected with the frame so as in effect to form an integral part of themining apparatus, Whose position is determined by the position of theframe and which moves therewith whenever the frame is moved, a conveyingelement operable in the chute to convey the material through the chuteto a delivery point generally at the side of the frame and means foroperating the conveying element.

6. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element carried by the frame, means for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and deliver material from thebody outwardly through the bore, a chute having a material receivingportion positioned intermediate the ends of the elongated mining elementto receive material delivered from the bore by the elongated miningelement and extending transversely of the direction of advance of theelongated mining element, the chute being rigidly connected with theframe so as in effect to form an integral part of the mining apparatus,whose position is determined by the position of the frame and whichmoves therewith whenever the frame is moved, a conveying elementoperable in the chute to convey the material through the chute to adelivery point generally at the side of the frame, means for operatingthe conveying element and connections including clutch means between themeans for rotating and advancing the elongated mining element and themeans for operating the conveying element whereby the conveying elementmay be operated at will by the means for rotating and advancing theelongated mining element.

7. Mining apparatus for simultaneously mining material and deliveringthe material laterally to a delivery point comprising a frame, anelongated mining element carried by the frame, means for rotating andadvancing the elongated mining element relatively to the frame to entera body of material, form a bore therein and de- 7 and which movestherewith whenever the frame is moved,

a conveying element operable in the chute to convey the material throughthe chute to a delivery point generally at the side of the frame, meansfor operating the conveying element and supporting means carried by theframe for supporting the elongated mining element at a level above thelevel of the material receiving portion of the chute.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSWittich Apr. 26, 1910 McCarthy Feb. 5, 1946 OTHER REFERENCES Coal Age,December 1948, pages 76 and 77.

